FourWay Tightrope
by peccatophobia
Summary: "So, Hinata, Sasuke, I want you two to be mature and responsible adults and decide which one of you will marry Aburame Shino, and which one of you will marry Akimichi Chouji." Life's just been made harder for the heirs of Konoha's four noble clans.


**Prologue: The Reveal**

* * *

><p><strong>January 5<strong>

"Sasuke, I am your father."

The declaration was met with wide-eyed disbelief, shocked sputtering, and two smirks. Hyuuga Hiashi remained totally and completely unfazed as he took a sip of his steaming tea, first blowing across the surface to cool it down. He raised an eyebrow as Hinata's sputtering continued for another few seconds, the girl setting her teacup down on the table so that she wouldn't spill any of it on herself. Sasuke just stared, mouth agape, kneeling on the cushion. He hadn't touched any of his tea; unsurprising, considering the amount of sugar Hinata tended to add when she made the tea.

_'Please let this be a joke, please let this be a joke, please let this be a joke,'_ Sasuke thought, even though he knew it was hopeless; Hyuuga Hiashi never joked about anything. He was famous throughout Konoha for his lack of a sense of humor. _'Please let this be a joke.'_

_'They're taking it quite well,'_ Hiashi thought to himself, watching the two teenagers in question. After a few moments of observation, he turned to the two other Hyuuga in the room.

"Knew it," Hanabi said, an Uchiha-worthy smirk on her face. Neji quickly hid his when he noticed his uncle discreetly watching.

"It's the nose," he said.

Hanabi rolled her eyes. "No way. It's the chin."

"Their chins look nothing alike!" Neji protested. "Sasuke's chin is too pointed. The shape of their jaws can't be the same."

"Then it's not the nose either," the ten-year old said. "I saw some pictures of Father when he was younger; his nose is too broad to match Sasuke's. Besides, it's obvious that he gets his nose from his mother. If you actually looked closely, even you could see that." She stuck out her tongue at him. "It's got to be the chin."

Hiashi frowned slightly at her behavior, but let it slide. She was only ten, after all, and there were no other members of the clan to see. He sighed internally and then looked back across the low table to the two clan heirs, who were still mostly unresponsive for the moment. Hinata was breathing in deeply, trying to get air into her lungs. Sasuke just blinked rapidly, seemingly on the way to hyperventilation, Hiashi noted with a slight amount of concern.

Neji paused for a moment, and looked between the shell-shocked Uchiha and Hiashi again. The Hyuuga prodigy's brow furrowed, and then he squinted as something occurred to him. "Huh. Maybe it's the ears." He was still frowning, head cocked slightly as he closely examined the two.

"Ears?" Hanabi studied her adoptive brother- she supposed that he was now her half-brother- and her father. Her eyes followed the shape of the ears, estimated the distance from eyes to ears. She focused on Sasuke, mentally aging him up twenty five years. Lips pursed, she mumbled, "Yeah. I guess you're right. The ears do look the same."

"It's the ears and the nose."

"It is not the nose! Ears and chin!"

A light cough from Hinata quickly broke up the small argument brewing. "Uh, F-Father?"

"Yes, Hinata?"

"Wh-why was it necessary to tell us this... now?" She coughed again. "It, um, doesn't really seem that important."

"I've spent sixteen years just fine not knowing, Hiashi-sama," Sasuke agreed. "And I think I could have gone another sixteen perfectly fine." He scowled at the tatami-covered wooden floor. "In fact, I probably could have spent the rest of my life happily thinking that Uchiha Fugaku is my father."

Hiashi sighed. It took the two of them about three minutes to recover from that ordeal. He wondered how long it would take them to get over the next bombshell. Briefly, he closed his eyes and thought very carefully about his next words. Hinata, though already more confident and mature, still hadn't totally gotten over her fainting fits. "I assume that you've been prepared for arranged marriages," he said, opening his eyes to look at the four children.

Hanabi, Neji, and Sasuke nodded. Hinata looked mortified, but nodded anyway. Hiashi frowned, silently drumming his fingers along the side of his tea cup. "Arranged marriages can sometimes result in situations like this," he nodded at Sasuke, pausing for a slight moment. "When I was younger, I was engaged to Uchiha Yuzuki, Mikoto's cousin. Unfortunately, at the time, I was in love with Uchiha Mikoto." Here, he paused once more. "The result of that is illegitimate children, like Sasuke."

Sasuke took three deep, deep breaths. Meanwhile, Neji and Hanabi continued their argument silently, though still keeping an ear out for Hiashi's story. Hinata just nodded again, though there was a slightly distant look in her eyes. Evidently, she still had not gotten over the fact that Sasuke was her half-brother. Hanabi, however, seemed perfectly at ease with it. Hiashi let that stew for a moment, and then continued, "But that is enough about the past. Hinata, Sasuke, I have called you here to discuss _your_ marriages."

The world seemed to spin, and then it went black.

Neji quickly leaped up and managed to catch Hinata just before she could hit her head against the side of the table, speed honed through three years of practice and a very, very oblivious and hug-crazy Uzumaki Naruto.

He was, however, unprepared when Sasuke went falling backwards a split second later.

* * *

><p>"The Daimyo has realized that the four noble clans of Konoha are apparently not familiar enough with each other," Aburame Shibi said quietly, nodding to his son as Shino stepped into the dining room, sliding the door shut behind him. "A few days ago, he sent word to Tsunade-sama that he would like this rectified as soon as possible. In fact, the Daimyo has already decided on a plan of action, which Tsunade-sama has agreed to."<p>

"What would this plan be?" Shino asked, bowing to his parents and taking his usual place at the dining table. His mother set down his dinner, and he muttered a thanks under his breath. He picked up his chopsticks, saying, "It seems to be something that concerns the clan heirs if I am being informed."

Shibi said, "That is correct. Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and Akimichi Chouji are also a part of this plan." He hesitated, trading a glance with his wife, who frowned at him. He inhaled. "The Daimyo wishes for the heirs of the clan to be betrothed by the end of the year."

Shino dropped his chopsticks.

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><p>Chouji was so shocked that he actually stopped eating. He just stared slack-jawed at his father. Chouza watched Chouji very carefully. "This is going to be a pretty public ceremony. Something that the rest of the village can look forward to, something to celebrate about." He huffed. "It's not like there's been anything major going on, but there have been a couple of small conflicts near the border. There are some people getting nervous, and the Daimyo thinks the noble clans need to be closer. There's going to be a big celebration planned for the beginning of next year, and then the weddings will be held in two years, when all of you are eighteen."<p>

Chouji cringed. "You mean, this is really going to happen?"

Chouza's expression radiated disapproval. "I wouldn't have held it this early if I was in charge. You're still young after all. But the Daimyo thinks that eighteen is a marriageable age, and he thinks this needs to happen as soon as possible."

Chouji gulped.

"The engagements have to be finalized by the end of this year. It's a good thing that the other heirs are all your age. You know them well, right?"

"Uh..."

Chouza sighed. "Well, there's no rush. You four have until December to get to know each other better, and decide who's marrying who. The Hokage figured that it'd be better if you four chose who you'd be marrying. You'll be less pressured, she said." Chouza huffed again. "The first meeting is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. You're going to be excused from training, and I'll be going with you to the tower for the full briefing. Then, you'll be spending the rest of the afternoon with the other three."

Chouji was pale by the end of the explanation. Chouza winced in sympathy for his only son; he didn't want to place him in this position, but orders were orders, especially when they were from both the Daimyo and the Hokage.

Dinner continued in silence, until Chouji suddenly blushed. "Um, Dad..."

"Yes, Chouji?"

"...Isn't Hinata the only girl?"

* * *

><p>Sasuke opened his mouth, ready to protest. Hiashi held up a hand to stop him. "No, Sasuke, you cannot refuse. This is a direct order from the Hokage." Sasuke scowled. "You cannot marry Hinata either. Ignoring the fact that Hanabi and Neji would most likely murder you for even thinking of trying it and I would not try very hard to stop them, incest is generally frowned upon in the eyes of the rest of the village." Sasuke looked like he was about to complain again, so Hiashi quickly added, "Yes, I am aware that many clans marry within the family; yes, I am aware that the Hyuuga practice this also. However, this is to be a public event, and the majority of the populace are not comfortable with the idea of incest. You will not be marrying Hinata."<p>

Sasuke's shoulders slumped. Hiashi resisted the urge to sigh and stood up. "I will have to discuss this with the elders. So, Hinata, Sasuke, I want you two to be mature and responsible adults and decide which one of you will marry Aburame Shino, and which one of you will marry Akimichi Chouji."

It took four seconds for Hanabi to give up trying to control her laughter. Neji chuckled and gave Sasuke a very, very evil-looking smirk as he raised his cup to his lips. Hinata turned cherry red.

Without batting an eyelash, Hiashi said, "And if all goes well with the elders, Hanabi, expect the details of your engagement with Neji in two days."

"WHAT?"

Neji choked on his tea.

Hiashi's lips twitched upwards ever so slightly.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, looks like this is the start of a new idea. I have a horrible record with multi-chapters, but I'm hoping that I can get this one done, since I really, really like the idea. I do have a very basic plot in mind, though it'll take a bit of polishing up to finish. A word of warning, though: I'll be at a summer camp for the next month so I don't think I can update this in a timely manner. I'll try my best to get chapters up in a somewhat regular manner, maybe every two weeks.

And, as you can probably tell, this is something of an AU. Sasuke was adopted by the Hyuuga clan, and he is much more well-adjusted than in canon. And yes, he is now the half-brother of Hinata. Mostly, I did it so I would have an excuse not to make it a SasuHina story. I really have nothing against incest (in some other fandoms, my favorite pairings are incesty; and NejiHina is one of my favorites in Nauto) but I don't really enjoy SasuHina that much. If anyone came here expecting a SasuHina fic, sorry guys. Not my cup of tea, though I will be focusing more on their sides of the story.

Well, this was somewhat lengthy, and I apologize for that. Also, I'm looking for a beta reader for the rest of the story. If anyone's interested, send me a message please!

See you all next chapter!


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